Latest News
Forestry Investment News
Major operation to stop illegal logging launched in Brazil
16/12/2011
Brazilian authorities have launched a major crackdown on illegal logging in the Amazon, in a bid to stamp out the harmful activity.
Operation 'Captain of Forest 2' – which was carried out by federal police, forest protection agency experts and officials from the military – saw thousands of tons of timber seized.
The operation was first begun in Brazil's northern state of Para, and was carried out in response to the activity, which comes as a result of growing tensions over land conflicts.
According to The Press Association, the authorities involved in the operation seized 105,944 cubic feet of timber logs, which had a combined value of around $2.5 million. They also closed down an illegal timber yard. The vast majority of the timber seized was ipe wood, an endangered tropical hardwood tree well-known for its durability. Known as 'Amazon gold', ipe wood can be worth more than $1,300 per cubic meter.
The head of the Brazilian government's environmental protection agency, IBAMA, David Rocha, told the news provider, “A large part of the timber illegally logged is for export and leaves from the port of Belem.”
Currently, experts believe that between 40 and 60 per cent of the timber taken from the Amazon rainforest is through illegal logging, as opposed to the 80 per cent plus that was taken in this manner a decade ago.
Operation 'Captain of Forest 2' – which was carried out by federal police, forest protection agency experts and officials from the military – saw thousands of tons of timber seized.
The operation was first begun in Brazil's northern state of Para, and was carried out in response to the activity, which comes as a result of growing tensions over land conflicts.
According to The Press Association, the authorities involved in the operation seized 105,944 cubic feet of timber logs, which had a combined value of around $2.5 million. They also closed down an illegal timber yard. The vast majority of the timber seized was ipe wood, an endangered tropical hardwood tree well-known for its durability. Known as 'Amazon gold', ipe wood can be worth more than $1,300 per cubic meter.
The head of the Brazilian government's environmental protection agency, IBAMA, David Rocha, told the news provider, “A large part of the timber illegally logged is for export and leaves from the port of Belem.”
Currently, experts believe that between 40 and 60 per cent of the timber taken from the Amazon rainforest is through illegal logging, as opposed to the 80 per cent plus that was taken in this manner a decade ago.
RSS